


Under Your Spell

by that_you_are



Category: Doctor Who, Doctor Who (2005)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bantering, Drama, F/M, Humor, John Smith - Freeform, Romance, human!Twelve, mystery too maybe, possible magic, young!twelve- well the soft top hard shoulder aged
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-17
Updated: 2017-06-04
Packaged: 2018-10-19 19:29:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,938
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10646526
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/that_you_are/pseuds/that_you_are
Summary: In an alternate universe, John Smith, the 32 yr old physicist and part-time lecturer, is running out of time. He has something very important to finish before his time is up. Except, fate has something different in mind.Fate has Clara Oswald, the 29 yr old aspiring writer and the best waitress at Ellie's Diner, in mind. Stumbling into Clara Oswald changes the course of John's life and vice-versa.As he starts falling for Clara, John starts putting less of his time into what he must do. That is until--well, we all know how the saying goes: time waits for no one. But maybe, just this once? WHO knows?(P.S. I'm terrible at summaries. I tried.)





	1. The Stranger

**Author's Note:**

> Hi there! Thanks for giving this fic a try. A few details: Well young!twelve which is John is basically Peter Capaldi from when he was in Soft Top, Hard Shoulder. I thought I was gonna say more but I realized they might be spoilers. So, for now hope you enjoy the fic. Any review/comments/advice gladly appreciated! English is my second language, so please forgive any grammatical mistakes. Also, I'm from the US so I don't really know much about the English life, feel free to educate me :). Now, I shall let you read the fic!

 

Clara Oswald grabbed her to-go cup of coffee as she rushed out the apartment building with her bag slung over one shoulder. She fast walked to the bus station and made it just on time to get on the bus. There she was all caught up and on schedule now. Phew, that was close. Not having her motorcycle sucked. The engine broke down a few days ago and was currently getting a servicing. Now, sitting on the bus she observed the people and places, taking it all in and looking for some inspiration. Inspiration for a book that she needs to start writing, if she was really serious about becoming a writer.

* * *

 Time. Time was precious. Actually when wasn’t it ever over the years he has lived. But now, he only had so much of it left. He was still trying to figure it all out. Going over his research over and over again, trying to find a solution to be able to have more time. If only he had a little more time to find a solution to have a lot more time, John Smith stood there staring at the bathroom mirror with his t-shirt bunched in the fist above his heart.Shaking his head, he turned on the faucet and splashed his face with water, trying to rid these thoughts and his tiredness away. He had stayed awake all night trying to just get some more work done on his research.

Once he was done freshening up, he looked at his pocket watch and immediately jumped into action. He had to get the papers to the hospital as soon as possible. He ran his fingers through his unruly brown curls hoping to tame them a bit, and quickly dressed into his plaid trousers, white shirt, black blazer and martins. He hurriedly grabbed the spread of papers on the table and ran towards the door. He checked his pocket watch again fifteen minutes till 4pm.

Fifteen minutes till the office closed. There’d be traffic if he took a cab. Oh well, he’d just have to run. He started running up the block. Just as he turned the corner he crashed into some stupid pudding brain and off went the papers spreading all over the sidewalk.

“Arghhh”, he cried out in frustration and quickly started collecting the papers. He saw a hand shoot out to grab some papers. “No, no. No! don’t touch anything. I’ve got it.” He shouted barely looking up, too busy gathering the “highly classified” papers.

He heard a mumbled “I was only trying to help” but he ignored it. Now was so not the time for pleasantries. Once he got all the papers, he  quickly stood up and resumed running towards the university building again.

“What a strange guy!” Clara mumbled, watching the figure recede down the block. She was a little annoyed and angry that he hadn’t apologized, and when she tried to help, he outright yelled. There was no need to be so hostile, but it was clear he was in a rush. She sighed, oh well she wasn’t going to let this ruin the rest of her day. But then again, she looked down at her trashed coffee cup lying on the sidewalk having slipped when that man had literally run into her. She picked up the now litter and threw it in the bin, making her way towards the diner. Her mood now slightly off due to some mopey haired guy.

* * *

 “Alright, Bill. I’ve got it from here.” Clara put on her apron and started heading to the register smiling at Bill. Meanwhile, the 5 foot 6 inch just looked at her boss confused.

“But my shift’s not done yet.” Bill replied raising her right brow.

Clara continued checking if everything is stocked, “Yes, but I also saw you eyeing that lecture flyer on that bulletin multiple times for that past week. Enough to know that you really want to go. So, now I’m letting you go. Or don’t you wanna go listen to that doctor guy of yours? How good is he anyway?” She stood in front of Bill acting like she was rethinking her decision. But a squeal and a hug from Bill made her break her character.

“Thankyouthankyouthankyou, Clara! You’re the best.” Bill let go of Clara, but held onto her shoulders and continued, “The lecturer is really cool but not the one or the type I’m interested in. But I bet you two would get on quite well.” Clara squinted her eyes as Bill started off to the backroom and avoided eye contact at that last statement.

“What is that supposed to mean?” Clara turned towards the swinging door, hands on her hips.

“OMG! it’s almost 4:20 yeah? The lecture starts in ten minutes! I gotta go!,” Bill rushed out of the backroom, heading straight towards the diner door. “Thanks again Clara! I owe you one.” And just like that Bill was off to the lecture hall. Clara just smiled, shaking her head, and continued looking through the diner registry.

* * *

 

It had gotten quite busy during dinner time,but now it was quiet again. It was almost eight, and then it’d be one more hour till the closing. Clara huffed, bored at the lack of things to do at the moment. She went up to the radio next to the register and turned it on. Foxes’ cover of “Don’t Stop Me Now” started playing and Clara went back to doodling on a piece on napkin.

The bells above the door jingled as the door opened. _Finally!_ Clara thought standing up straight facing the door with a smile. But that smile quickly disappeared as she realized who the stranger at the door was.

He was looking through a notebook while he entered He kept walking towards his usual booth by the window side, all the while too immersed in his notebook to really pay attention to the frowning waitress standing behind the register. John huffed as he sat down, still trying to figure out the problem. His mind was running million miles a second as he kept staring at the pages hoping for an eureka moment. But instead he heard shuffling of feet that kept getting louder until it stopped right next to him. He had deduced long ago that it must have been the waitress of the diner.

“Shush!” he put up his left hand while still staring at the pages for answers. However, he was soon distracted by an uneasy feeling. It felt like someone was making a hole at the back of his head. He looked up quickly, his right hand grabbing the back of his head making sure that it was still there. It was a waitress glaring at him. John didn’t know what to do, he knew he wasn’t the best with social matters.

“Um.. A cuppa coffee with seven sugar cubes and a side of chips!” he ordered, but the round-faced, brown-eyed waitress didn’t seem fazed. She kept glaring at him. John really wasn’t a people person. He looked back down at his notebook, then out the window and then back at the waitress in blue with furrowed eyebrows--sometimes that did the trick.

“Is that all?” she asked in a strict tone while writing down his orders.

“Yeah! That’s --” Before he could finish his reply, she had turned around and walked off towards the kitchen window. John frowned again and then went back to working on his problem.

It had been a while now. John gave up on trying to figure out the notebook problem and started wondering where his food was. The waitress seemed to be helping someone at the register, so he took of his coat and laid it at the empty space on the bench beside him. He took out his pocket watch and checked the time. It was 8:15 now. Didn’t he get there around eight? It shouldn’t have taken that long to get a simple order of chips and coffee. He placed the watch on the table, got up and started walking up to the waitress, ready to speak his mind.


	2. The Pocket Watch

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is Chapter 2. Enjoy.

As she watched the stranger walk to the booth by the window side still reading his notebook, Clara thought to herself. _Maybe he is just a very busy person. He seems pretty focused on his notebook. Maybe, he is too stressed. She could help with that._ Nodding to herself and ready to give the messy haired customer another chance, she walked up to the table to greet him. But before she could even say anything, he sushed her.

Her mood changed instantly. The anger bubbling within, she glared at him.  This was the second time he had shushed her. _How dare he!_ Clara kept glaring at the back of his head, thinking of ways to get back at the rude idiot sitting before her. _If only looks could kill._ Or maybe they had some effect, because the stranger looked up at her holding the back of his head. _Good, that’s what he deserves._

“Um.. A cuppa coffee with seven sugar cubes and a side of chips!” he ordered with uncertainty. _That’s all he has to say? No please or sorry...bloody stick insect._  This only kept Clara motivated to keep glaring at him.  After a few seconds, he seemed to get uncomfortable, so Clara decided to let him go for now. “Is that all?” she asked in a strict tone while writing down his orders.

“Yeah! That’s --” She turned and left before he could finish. She had better things to do and a better plan to get her revenge.

She sent the orders to the kitchen and went to attend the front register where a few customers had gathered to buy the baked goods at display. Clara started talking to them pleasantly, throwing a quick glance in between to see what the rude stranger was up to. He was back to focusing on his notebook. _Must be something really important_ , Clara thought. Just then the kitchen rung the bell to indicate his order was up, but she didn’t want to deal with him at the moment so decided to wait a while. _Mr. Rude can wait!_ She went back to helping other customers.

* * *

He was walking up to the counter, ready to complain. There she was, bidding farewell to the other customers. Time seemed to slow down. Perhaps it was the lightning or that distant jingling of the bells as the customers left. Or maybe it was smile she had on her face. He could hear his heartbeat all too clearly. It felt like a eureka moment but it wasn’t one. _Was it?_   _No, it was something more magical than science._ His mind was calm yet running at light speed trying to capture all the details of the beautiful woman smiling and waving good-bye before him. There he was, finally at the counter, waiting for her to notice him. He tried to say something, but she turned to him just then. Her smile disappeared just like that. His own face seemed to frown at that.

Clara turned around, grabbed the plate of chips and the now cold coffee and placed them on the counter. “Here you go.” she said monotonously. She then turned around and tried to seem busy cleaning the back counters.

John, on the other hand, was still standing there. His eyebrows in a frown and mouth gaping like a fish.  Realizing that, he closed it, looked at his food, then back up. He opened his mouth again to say something but he hesitated, not knowing what to say. So, he just grabbed his chips and coffee and went back to his seat.

For a few minutes, he just stared at his food and wasn’t sure what had just happened. He looked back up to see if the waitress was still there. She wasn’t. He ate a chip and took a sip of his coffee. It was lukewarm and bitter, he spat it right out. Stuffed more chips into his mouth to take away the vile taste. He wanted to be mad, but for some reason he couldn’t. He was still dazed and confused. Maybe he needed sleep, yeah that must be it.

Placing some money on the table-- he didn’t care for the change, maybe it would cover up for his rudeness before-- he grabbed his notebook and coat and walked right out of the dinner. He started making his way home, his thoughts still on the waitress’s smile. The face seemed so familiar but he couldn’t place it. Maybe she was a student at the university or maybe--. The ringing church bells broke his train of thought and stopped him in his tracks. _His pocket watch!_ Turning on his heel he ran towards the diner.

* * *

After giving the man his food, Clara had went to the backroom to check her phone. She had only been there for a few minutes when she heard the door again. Sighing she walked out to greet the new people but no one was there. She looked over the rude guy’s booth. It was empty. She rolled her eyes and went up to the table. It seemed like he had barely touched anything. There was more money than the food cost. She put the money in her apron and started gathering the plate and cup, when something gold and shiny caught her eye. It was near salt and pepper shakers. She grabbed it. It seemed to be a pocket watch with strange engravings, similar to that of what she saw in the man’s notebook.

“He must’ve been in some hurry,” she mumbled, placing the watch in the pocket.

She had just finishing cashing out the register when she heard the door swing open again. She looked up, but again there was no one. She looked over to the window booth and there he was. Bent over the table, looking for something. No doubt his watch, Clara rolled her eyes. She walked up to the table, hand in her pocket, grabbing the watch.

 _Where was it? Did he drop it in the streets on the way out?_ He looked at every crook and cranny cranny of the booth. He was sure he placed it on the table. _Perhaps the waitress_ \--

“Ahem!” He turned around and there she was.

“Looking for this?” Clara held out her hand, dangling the watch by it’s chain.

“Yes!” he grabbed it quickly, looking if there was any fault in it.

That was rude. Again. Clara thought shaking her head. But it seemed that after getting his watch the man was ready to head out again, so Clara spoke up.

“Forgetting something else?” He finally looked up properly at Clara who had her arms crossed.

He furrowed his brows again, confused.  “No i already got— oh uh thanks?” he said, hoping that was good enough.

For a second, Clara was surprised that he had the decency to say thanks. But that wasn’t what she was talking about. She took her hand out of her other pocket and handed him his change. “Your change.”

He looked down at the money unsure what to do. And that was when she grabbed his hand and placed the money in it. “Take it. It was a lot for soggy chips and terrible coffee.”  But John was at a loss of words again. Her hands were so soft and warm, so unlike his. He wanted her to keep holding his. He tilted his head slightly. Still looking at her face. She was facing him but was averting her eyes, almost as if she was guilty. He almost smiled. Almost. But just like that she took back her hands, but then again took a five from his open palm.

“Actually, a fiver for all the trouble. But you should leave now, it’s closing time!” exclaiming that she turned and headed towards the register. John stood there for a moment, amused at the round faced bossypants. Chuckling to himself, he pocketed his watch and money and walked out.  The hand she had touched guarded safely in his pocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading. Hopefully, I will get to update Chapter 3 soon!


	3. Chapter 3: Third time's the charm...maybe

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all, sorry for the delay. Thank you all for reading and your kudos. Here is short chapter. Hope y'all like it :).

 

The next day, John went back to the diner. He ordered chips and coffee again, and got them on time, hot, and fresh. Instead of being in his own world with a notebook, this time he looked around. He may or may not have been hoping to see her, which may or may not have been the reason he came back. But unfortunately, she was nowhere to be seen. The worker was a young lad, Rigsy, who seemed pretty new to the job, trying to please everyone and do everything perfectly. Once he was done eating, John decided that he had wasted enough time and got up to leave. He went up the counter and as Rigsy was calculating his bill, John casually asked, “ahem..so where is the other worker today?” Rigsy looked at him confused as there may have been more than one other worker of course. _Idiot John!_

John started running his hand through his brown curls, a nervous habit, “uh the round face one…” Rigsy still stared at him with confusion. “She is very bossy and about ye height”, John held out his hand in front of his chest approximating the height. Rigsy by now seemed to be shocked at something but John went on describing, hell bent on getting Rigsy to guess right, “exactly has huge inflated eyes like those--wait what’s wrong?”

It was quiet for a moment with Rigsy staring straight with mixed emotions, while John was trying to figure out if he had scared the daylights out of the kid by sounding like a lunatic. But then he heard a clearing of throat from right behind him. He turned only to face none other than _her._ She seemed cross...about something.

“Oh Hi.” He gave her a tight lipped smile hoping to dissipate her anger.

“Really? Reaaalllyyy? Round face? Bossy? Huge eye?!?! And I’m not even that short!” Clara berated him pointing at his arm.

“Yes, but you are. See.” John simply replied extending his arm laterally, or maybe cheating and tilting it up a little, to reach to her head. Clara immediately slapped it away.

“Ow!” he brought back his hand, rubbing it to feign hurt.

“Good. That’s what you get!” exclaimed Clara as she went to the back room, done with the conversation. As the back room door closed, she heard Mr. Rude grumble and go back to paying his bill. She wasn't about to let him ruin her mood again.

She exited the back room, ready and dressed in her waitress outfit. Rigsy seemed busy logging out of the register, meaning that Mr. Rude had left. “Oh good. He left! That grumpy, stupid, tall stick insect,” she exclaimed with relief. “So listen, Rigsy,” she turned to her employee only to find that he was  looking at her with the same mixed emotion of confusion and fear  look.

“What?”she wondered out loud. His eyes only got bigger and it finally dawned on Clara. She bit her bottom lip, _stupid, stupid, Clara_ , and whispered, “He’s right behind me isn’t he?” Rigsy nodded furiously and not knowing what else to do, excused himself to the back room. Clara closed her eyes for a moment, then slowly turned trying to look confident. John was just leaning against the wall next to the back room door, looking at her with a pout and frown of his brows. “See you _are_ grumpy” Clara said pointing at his brows. Realizing that he was, he rolled his eyes. Clara started giggling, nervously at first, but then genuinely as absurdity of the situation hit her. Meanwhile, John kept staring at her trying to understand what was happening in his heart, the little flutter and warmth. The sounds of her laughter, music to his ears.

“Oh so you smile too?” she said stopping her laughter. _Maybe he isn’t so bad after all._ John’s hand immediately flew over his mouth to check. That made Clara laugh more. “Oh stop it you! What are you still doing here anyway…shouldn’t you be running somewhere with papers that no one can touch flying all around?” She reminded him.

“Oh...that was you wasn’t it?”  John questioned jogging through his memory.

“Yes it was! You didn’t remember?!”Clara was surprised. She thought he knew all along. “Well you _were_ rushing to god knows where. AND you cost me my coffee.” She justified.

“I can get you a new one” his mouth ran before he could stop himself. _Shit! Play it cool John_ , he reminded himself.

“What? A coffee?” Clara was dumbfounded for a second, having not expected that.

“Yeah, if you want one that is” He averted his eyes, running his hand through his messy brown curls again.

Then Clara waved her hand in a semi circle, gaining back his attention.

“Uhhh...what is that?” John imitated with his hand, confused as to what she was trying to say.

“We are at a diner and I _can_ get coffee here by myself, you know. Which reminds me I should relieve Rigsy from his shift and start working.” Clara turned around to face Rigsy again, internally berating herself for making stupid excuses. _What was wrong with her?!?_

“Oh. Well maybe...maybe when you are not here and in need of one, I can get you it.” John really needed to put a foot in his mouth. _Where was all this coming from?! He wouldn’t even have the time...or maybe he would make it...for her._

“uh. it’s-” Clara paused. _What was she doing?! Distancing herself again when for once Mr. Rude was being Mr. Nice._ She looked at the guy standing in front of her, even if he was quite good at hiding it, she could see that he was a little nervous. Maybe it was the constant running of his hand through his hair which looked so very soft.   _Oh what the hell! She might as well agree to this since she had nothing going on._  “Okay. Deal. Although how that will work out I don’t even know” she replied thinking this won’t end up anywhere.

As soon as she said that John briefly looked around, acting like he was thinking. She didn’t know what great skills he had. With his sharp eyes, he noticed the schedule pinned next to the employees only door, the “Clara” nametag that was on her dress. With a few deduction, he knew how he was going to work it out.   _There he goes, not so idiot after all._

He smirked at her proudly. “Ohhh….It will work! Or don’t you believe me, _Clara_?” he questioned with a wink. Her name sounding natural out of his mouth. Clara squinted her eyes at him suspicious that something had just happened but she didn’t know yet. Though the jingling of the entrance door reminded she needed to work now.

“Ok fine. Just do it your way. Now run along you clever boy, I have work to do.” she shooed him with her hand and walked towards the register.

“Ohhoho, I’m clever now?” John replied  with a wicked grin on his face, walking around the counter towards the main door. Clara just stood next to the register with a straight face mouthing, “no you’re not” and shaking her head.  Opening the door he shrugged and smiled at her. “It’s John by the way” and walked out letting the bells jingle again as the door closed. Smiling and shaking her head, Clara headed towards where the new customers sat.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter we will get to know John and Clara a bit more...with chips and coffee ;)

**Author's Note:**

> Please feel free to critique and comment!


End file.
